Radicalism, Richard and the Right to Freedom: An Introductory Remark

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Green Party to be able to introduce Richard Stallman tonight here in Dunedin and his lecture on Copyright vs Community.

I have been thinking about the similarities between the Green Party and organisations like the Free Software Foundation and people like Richard.

In the Greens we know what it is to be radicals. We temper it with electability. Richard represents a burning torch of radicalism. His radicalism shows that another pathway exists, one we look to follow. We have similar relationships with other radical organisations; NORML, Save Happy Valley, Free Tibet, Forest and Bird. We can't take up every part of their platform but they show us where we are headed. A burning radical makes no compromises and takes no prisoners. We on the other hand have to make compromises and accommodate our prisoners.

But the biggest thing we have in common is that we are all based on principle. In the Greens we are tempered by pragmatism but not premised on it. And that makes the Greens different from everyone else operating in the political sphere.

Richard is unusual because he acknowledges us. His webpage asks people to support the Green Party and we are enormously grateful for that. Many movements supporting the Greens are very reluctant to be publicly associated with us, particularly environmental organisations. The problem with that is that it weakens the political momentum for change which is the whole point of doing this work in the first place. So thank you Richard.

We Greens are often criticised for being more than a environmental party. Richard is talking tonight about a issue that is key to a real sustainable society. Its not just our environmental impacts that are unsustainable but also our social impacts.

I am very interested in Richard's critique of 'intellectual property' concepts from an indigenous peoples point of view. So much indigenous knowledge has been stolen, appropriated, misappropriated, taken, nicked, pinched, perverted, exploited, 'enhanced'. Some tell us that the only protection for this knowledge is to legalise it into some kind of intellectual property – to 'own' it and make it property, in the worst sense of the word.

We, the Greens, disagree. Indigenous forms of control and transmission of knowledge are the only applicable forms of control and transmission of indigenous knowledge. Indigenous peoples have their critique too of intellectual property.

Today I was proud to have released our IT policy. It, like all our policy follows our charter. The key principles for us are:

Ecological Wisdom:
Information Technology should be used to enhance our lives and reduce resource use. The development of IT must proceed in a socially responsible and sustainable manner.

Social Justice:
The digital divide must be bridged so these opportunities are properly shared. The opportunities from IT must not depend on wealth but work for the benefit of all.

Appropriate Decision-making
IT should be used to enhance the flow public information, knowledge and decision making in all aspects of our lives. The use of free software is supported to encourage appropriate technology and indigenous solutions to local problems.

Non-Violence
The benefits of IT need to be shared amongst all members of our society and not be used to enhance or entrench existing inequalities, or create new layers of inequity.

We have been very lucky to have had Richard look at our policy and provide very useful critique. He agrees with some bits and has suggestions for change in other areas. And we will take his advice seriously as he is an expert in the principled basis on which our policy is built. We cant adopt all his suggestions at once, because unlike other parties our policy is developed by our members not our MPs. It is a policy process of which we are very proud but it takes a little time. A lot of time - like all good things!

Friends, We are gathered here tonight.
Apparently it all started with a laser printer. If Xerox had been more open with the source code for their laser printer driver, then perhaps the free software movement may never have happened. Perhaps we would have all been at home tonight watching Van West getting laid on tv.
Thanks in part to Xerox, a movement started. In 20 years this movement has changed the face of computing. So, it is with great pleasure I introduce one whom some may describe as the "Bill Gates" of the Free Software movement, better looking, much smarter, [Yes Richard, MUCH more ethical!] and not nearly as rich, Richard Stallman.